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Philanthropy

Going hand-in-hand with fundraising is the need to understand philanthropy – why and how people give to causes. This page compiles research and articles to assist organizations in conceptualizing the giving landscape and how to taylor their efforts to most benefit their mission.

Struck by Duck: Do We Really Need This Data?

Source: The Center for Effective Philanthropy

The Center for Effective Philanthropy looks at the incredible specificity in medical coding—there are codes for "struck by duck" and "burn due to water-skis on fire"—and highlights the often overlooked cost of collecting data.

Money for Good 2015 Report

Source: Camber Collective

The latest Money for Good, or $FG, Report from Camber Collective “identifies the segments of donors most likely to increase and/or shift their giving, strategic interventions to change those segments’ behavior, and opportunities to use three giving channels—workplace giving, point of sale giving, and donor-advised funds—to further increase, shift, and improve giving.”

Foundation Giving for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Infrastructure

Source: Foundation Center

The Foundation Center, with funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, recently published Foundation Giving for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Infrastructure 2004-2012, an analysis of 700+ funders and 12,000+ grants to nonprofit and philanthropic infrastructure organizations and services.

Giving USA 2015: Donations Hit Record High, Up 7.1% from 2013

Source: Giving USA

The recently released Giving USA 2015, which analyses giving in 2014, found that Americans gave almost $360 billion, up 7.1% from 2013. While bequest, corporate, and foundation all increased, a 5.7% increase in individual giving accounted for almost $11 billion of the $18+ billion overall increase.

Giving USA Report - A Closer Look

Source: Nonprofit Quarterly

The 2015 Giving USA Report has been released and the headlines are all about how charitable contributions have bounced back and giving is up. Great news! Ruth McCambridge, Editor in Chief of the Nonprofit Quarterly, encourages us all to look deeper into where the money came from and where it is going. In this article she posits that the distribution of that money is out of balance in the same way as wealth has become imbalanced—it remains relatively close to the wealthy “home” and is devoted to larger institutions.

From an Overhead Myth to an Overhead Solution

Source: Overhead Myth

Jacob Harold, President & CEO of GuideStar, recently posted a call to nonprofits on the Overhead Myth campaign's blog. He shares a letter that outlines three steps nonprofits can take to help "solve" the overhead problem as well as a great list of resources to educate both yourself and your funders.

As Wealthy Give Smaller Share of Income to Charity, Middle Class Digs Deeper

Source: Chronicle of Philanthropy

The Chronicle of Philanthropy analyzed $180 billion in charitable donations, using IRS data from 2012. They found that, while the wealthy gave less, middle- and lower-income Americans gave more of their income, despite earning less overall compared to six years ago.

Do Competitive Prizes Drive Innovative Solutions?

A new report discusses the increase in government agencies and philanthropic organizations staging competitions as a way to promote innovation in solving difficult technological, social, and environmental problems.

Asking for a Gift Personally

Source: Nonprofit Quarterly

“Hello, Sarah. This is Simone. How are you?“I’m calling to thank you for your gift to the Women’s Fund—and to set up a meeting. I’d like to take you to your favorite coffee shop…tell you how we’ve been spending your money…and talk about another gift.“Great! Tuesday at 10 a.m. See you there.”

Disrupting Corporate Philanthropy

Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review

Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce.com, shares the correct assumptions and lessons learned from 10+ years of Salesforce.com's 1 / 1 / 1 formula (1% of equity, 1% of employee time, and 1% of product) for corporate philanthropy.

Counter-Intuitive or a New Path to Profit?: What Donors Can Teach Us About Making More Money

Source: npENGAGE

Penelope Burk, President of fundraising consulting firm Cygnus Applied Research and best-selling author, presented at Blackbaud's npNEXT 2013 conference. In her presentation, "Counter-Intuitive or a New Path to Profit?: What Donors Can Teach Us About Making More Money", she shares insights on what donors want based on annual donor surveys conducted by her firm.

The Next Generation of American Giving

Source: Blackbaud

Blackbaud released a new report on giving by generation, and they've made a slick online infographic summary of their findings. They share data on giving preferences, media habits, and the types of transactions for each generation. You can download a copy of the full report for a more in-depth look at each age group, as well.

Planned Giving Committees That Work

Source: The Nonprofit Times

John Elbare, MBA, CFP, a Florida-based philanthropic consultant to both donors and nonprofits, details the first steps for creating a planned giving committee, as well as common mistakes to avoid and best practices.

5 Indicators for Identifying the Best Potential Donors

Source: Bloomerang

Bloomerang analyzed donor data from over 400 nonprofits, consisting of over 2 million individuals with a combined giving total of over $5 billion. They determined the 5 best indicators for identifying potential major donors, all of which can be found in either your own records or publicly available data.